ROLE OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY IN NATURAL DISASTER

MANAGEMENT
Shriniwas S. Arkatkar
Lecturer, Civil Engineering Department, Nirma Institute of Technology ,Ahmedabad.
Since time immemorial, man has seen earthquakes again and again, nor for the first time and
neither for the last time. The fractured and eye opening faces of Uttarkashi, Latur, Jabalpur, Chamoli,
Bhuj and other parts of the world always tell the saga of this deadly natural disaster i.e. earthquake.
Earthquakes are caused by the abrupt release of strain that has built up in the earths crust. Most zones of
maximum earthquake intensity and frequency occur at the boundaries between the moving plates that
form the crust of the earth. Major earthquakes also occur within the interior of crustal plates such as those
in China, Russia and the southeast United States. Considerable research has been carried out to predict
earthquakes using conventional technologies, but the results to date are inconclusive. Seismic risk
analysis, based on historic earthquakes and the presence of active faults, is an established method for
locating and designing dams, power plants and other projects in seismically active areas. Landsat-TM and
SPOT images have been used to detect the active faults. Space systems from their vantage position have
unambiguously demonstrated their capability in providing vital information and services for disaster
management. The Earth Observation satellites provide comprehensive, synoptic and multi-temporal
coverage of large areas in real time and at frequent intervals and thus- have become valuable for
continuous monitoring of atmospheric as well as surface parameters related to natural disasters.
Earthquake risk assessment involves identification of seismic zones through collection of
geological/structural, geophysical (primarily seismological) and geomorphologic data and mapping of
known seismic phenomena in the region, (mainly epicenters with magnitudes). Satellite imagery could be
used in delineating geotectonic structures and to clarify seismological conditions in earthquake risk zones.
Accurate mapping of geomorphologic features adjoining lineaments reveals active movement or recent
tectonic activity along faults. The power of a GIS in pre-disaster planning is heightened when these
hazard maps are super-imposed with mapping of infrastructure and lifelines. These include mapping of
water supply lines, bridges, transportation, telecommunication, and power networks, as well as critical
facilities such as hazardous material locations, power generating plants, refineries, ports, etc. Remote
sensing and photogrammetry techniques can be easily applied to generate or update these maps. By
looking at these super-imposed data sets, planners can immediately identify the areas that would be worst
impacted in an earthquake, and plan their emergency response activities accordingly.
The aftermath of the Gujarat Earthquake has made the research workers to enhance their efforts
on several collaborative works relating to the GPS. The observations in the earthquake affected area of
Gujarat near Bhuj, to understand the post-earthquake crustal deformation pattern, and for monitoring
crustal dynamics in this earthquake affected region in the nearby future, by establishing several GPS
stations in the area. The aim of establishing these stations is to monitor the deformations of the region
from a reference point outside the region and to monitor the deformations of the region near the epicenter.
Also, GIS & RS applications can be used in managing such disasters. This technique involves the
generation of certain sets of hazard maps, that include active fault maps, seismic zonation and micro zonation maps. Hence, this paper would give an overview on the role of Space Technology in the Natural
Disaster Management Issues.